The ritual of the prom send-off

Super send-off

Brian Cassella, Chicago Tribune

Te'airah Gaylord and Raymond Solomon dance their way along the red carpet as family, friends and neighbors attend their prom send-off party in an Austin backyard. Te'airah, 17, is a senior at Notre Dame High School for Girls and the celebration was at the duplex of her grandmother and great-grandmother.

Te'airah Gaylord and Raymond Solomon dance their way along the red carpet as family, friends and neighbors attend their prom send-off party in an Austin backyard. Te'airah, 17, is a senior at Notre Dame High School for Girls and the celebration was at the duplex of her grandmother and great-grandmother. (Brian Cassella, Chicago Tribune)

In Chicago's African-American community, a burgeoning unique ritual now accompanies the annual spring prom: a flamboyant pre-event gathering many simply call "the send-off." Here, friends, family, community leaders and residents greet and celebrate teenagers just before they depart to go to their school sponsored parties. Mounting in popularity -- and extravagance -- in recent years, in most cases, the send-offs are bigger and more important than the prom.